Dokoupil's big swing makes dream come true

Severna Park senior's HR helps South in Crown game

Lining the fields for his summer-league coach yesterday morning, Severna Park's Tony Dokoupil said he envisioned going deep later at the Crown High School All-Star Game at Oriole Park.

Said Dokoupil: "I told [my coach] I was going to swing out of my shoes on every pitch."

The Falcons senior did just that, giving himself the memory of a lifetime by taking Kevin Damiano's low fastball into the left-field seats to help his South team beat the North, 3-2, in the 18th annual game matching the state's top seniors from public and private schools.

The game's lone home run tied the score at 2 in the bottom of the sixth, setting the stage for Howard's Anthony Aceves, who hit a bases-loaded single off Dulaney's Bryan Mosser to drive in Roosevelt's Calton Bragg with the winning run in the bottom of the seventh.

For most involved, however, the score mattered little. The afternoon was more about living a dream, taking the field where the Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies had battled only moments before.

"It's the atmosphere. Even if there's not a lot of people here, playing on this field is awesome," said Aceves.

For McDonogh's Cap Poklemba, who went 2-for-3 with a double to win North MVP honors, there was something nostalgic, and rather nerve-wracking, about stepping into the batter's box and staring at the warehouse in right.

"I had some butterflies my first at-bat, but I think once I got that out of me, I was fine," said Poklemba, who admitted he considered taking home some blades of grass as a memento. "I thought about it, but then I said, `Nah, this is a good enough memory knowing I was out here one time.' "

The day began when the 30 players were presented with commemorative bats from the Orioles' Brady Anderson and Harold Baines in a pre-game ceremony.

Once they began to play, it was a unique opportunity for many of the prep stars to get a small taste of the big leagues, especially Orioles draftees Jason Tourangeau (17th round out of South Carroll) and Nick Vitielliss (42nd round, Thomas Stone).

Tourangeau, who is wrestling with the question of whether to sign or attend East Carolina University, picked up the North's most valuable pitcher honors by allowing one hit, an infield single, over two innings and striking out the side in the third.

"Playing here is a great feeling," said Tourangeau. "It's going to be a tough decision."